Printing cylinder stripping means with stop press control



Nov. 6, 1956 w. B. LEAVENS, JR

PRINTING CYLINDER STRIPPING MEANS-WITH STOP PRESS CONTROL 2 S heetSSheet 1 Filed Feb. 15, 1955 Nov. 6, 1956 w. B; LEAVENS, JR

PRINTING CYLINDER STRIPPING MEANS WITH STOP PRESS CONTROL 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed Feb. 15, 1955 United States Patent PRINTING CYLINDER STRIPPINGMEANS WITH STOP PRESS CONTROL William B. Leavens, Jr., West Orange, N.J. Application February 15, 1955, Serial No. 488,271 Claims. (Cl.101232) This invention relates to improvements in printing presses, andhas reference, more particularly, to mechanism for separating printedmaterial from a printing cylinder of a printing press to assist normaldischarge thereof, but operative to stop the press in event of abnormaldischarge thereof.

In the operation of a rotary printing press generally, and especiallywhen the printing is done with tacky inks and varnishes, there istendency of the printed material to adhere to a printing cylinder so asto detrimentally interfere with normal discharge of said material fromthe latter. This is not only undesirable with respect to rotary printingpresses regardless of type, but with respect to special purpose pressesmay render operation thereof impractical if tacky inks and varnishes areused. For example, in the production of paper boxes and cartons,automatic machines are available which diecut the boxes or cartons froma web of cardboard fed into the machine, then cut the web into sheets,and thereupon print the box or carton blanks contained in the sheets,all in a continuous sequence of these operations. One of the principallimitations in the use of machines of the latter character is the factthat the printing operation must be carried out with inks which aresubstantially non-tacky, whereby to avoid risk of adherence of theprinted sheet to a printing cylinder, and thus to assure normalissue ofthe printed sheet from the latter. Owing to this limitation, suchautomatic machines have heretofore been operated with difliculty whenthe printing operation required use of tacky inks and varnishes nowgenerally demanded by box and carton consumers.

Having the above in view, it is an object of this invention to providemechanism which normally functions to peel or strip printed materialaway from the surface of a printing cylinder, especially underconditions involving the use of tacky inks and varnishes for theprinting operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide mechanism for separatingprinted material from the printing plate or plates of a printingcylinder, whereby to assist normal discharge of said printed materialtherefrom; said mechanism being adapted to yield to pressure ofabnormally discharge material, which otherwise would jam so as to bothrisk injury to the printing plates and cause destruction and waste ofprinted material; said mechanism being cooperative with means to controloperation of the printing press, whereby, when yielding to jammingmaterial, to immediately effect stoppage of the operation of the press.

The above and other objects will be understood from a reading of thefollowing detailed description of this invention in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is an elevational view showing the peeling or stripping mechanismof this invention in operative relation to a printing cylinder, thecarrying rolls, which receive printed material discharged from thelatter, being omitted.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view, taken on line 2-2 in Fig. 1, this viewincluding the carrying rolls which receive the printed materialdischarged from the printing cylinder.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view, taken on line 3-3 inFig. 2.

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Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing a preferred formation of the tipend portion of a peeler blade as operatively related to the printingcylinder and printing plates mounted thereon.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, similar to that of Fig. 2,but showing a modified construction and arrangement of the peeling andstripping mechanism of this invention.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like characters of reference areemployed to indicate corresponding parts, the reference character 10indicates the side frames of a printing press. Journaled in and betweensaid side frames is the shaft 11 of a printing cylinder 12, upon theperipheral surface of which one or more printing plates 13 are mounted.Journaled in and between the side frames 10, beneath the printingcylinder 12, for cooperation therewith, is a bed roll 14. Said printingcylinder and bed roll are driven by power transmission means (not shown)in any suitable manner known to the art.

A preferred embodiment of the peeling or stripping mechanism accordingto this invention, as shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, comprises abridge plate 15 which is disposed to extend across the outer face of theprinting cylinder 12 in concentric outwardly ofiset relation thereto,and parallel to the axis thereof. Said bridge plate 15 is movablysupported by and between swingable carrier members 16, which are pivotedon the shaft 11 of the printing cylinder 12, intermediate the ends ofthe latter and the press side frames 10, for outward extension from saidshaft. Suitable means is provided for uniting the bridge plate with thecarrier members 16, and to this end, said carrier members are preferablyprovided, on

their inner faces, with ribs 17 to which the ends of the bridge bar aresuitably secured. Extending outwardly from the free ends of the carriermembers 16, preferably in line with the top margins thereof, and asunitary parts thereof, are extension arms 18. These extension arms 18are provided with angular stop fingers 19 which overhang shoulderportions 20 formed in connection with the side frames 10 of the press.Fixed on said shoulder portions 20, to upstand therefrom, are stop postsor pins 21 which are normally abutted by said stop fingers 19, therebylimiting down-swinging movement of the carrier members 16, and thusdisposing the bridge plate 15 in a normal arrested position above andrelative to the plane of outward movement of printed material issuingfrom the printing cylinder 12, such plane being ordinarily re ferred toas the paper line.

Fixed on the outer face of the bridge plate 15, to extend longitudinallytherealong, is a coupling bar 22, which is preferably of key-stone shapein cross-section so as to possess undercut top and bottom edges.Adjustably supported by said coupling bar 22, to depend from the bridgeplate 15 toward the paper line of the press, and adjacently contiguousto the printing cylinder 12 and the faces of the printing plates 13thereon, are a plurality of suitably spaced apart peeling or strippingdevices. Each peeling or stripping device comprises a preferably arcuatepeeler or stripper blade 23 which depends from a coupler block 24,formed to provide, in the rear side thereof, a transverse channel 25 toreceive the coupling bar 22 when said coupler block is engagedthereover. Means is provided to detachably secure the coupler block 24to the coupling bar 22. Illustrative of one form of means for thispurpose, one side wall, preferably the bottom wall, of said channel 25is shaped to conform to the undercut bottom edge of the coupling bar 22.Disposed within the channel 25 of the coupling block 24 is a keeperwedge piece 26, the bottom side of which is shaped to conform to theundercut upper edge of the coupling bar 22, and the upper side of whichis shaped to conform to the opposite or top side wall of the channel 250f the coupling block 24.

To lock the coupler block in a selected adjusted position along and inconnection with the bridge plate 15, a draw screw or bolt 7 is passedthrough the coupler block to screw into the keeper wedge piece 26, sothat, when turned home, it will draw the latter into holding engagementwith the coupling bar 22, whereby to clamp the coupler block thereto,and thus retain the peeler or stripper blade 23, which depends from thelatter, in a desired position relative to and intermediate the ends ofthe printing cylin de-r 2 and the printing plates thereon.

Ordinarily carrying roll means is provided outwardly oifset from theprinting cylinder 12 and bed roll 14, and is adapted to receive aprinted sheet S as it issues therefrom, so as to carry said sheet onwardfor discharge or delivery to other mechanism, as the case may be.lllustratively, said carrying roll means comprises a lower roll 8, theshaft of which is journaled in and between the press side frames(lo-operative with said lower roll is an upper roll comprising spacedgripper disks 3t) fixed on a shaft 31. Said upper roll is preferablyremovable from the press, and, in such case, the shaft 31 is journaledin and between bearings 32, which are removably supported by so-cketedbrackets 33 with which the press side frames it) ar provided.

Each peeler or stripper blade 23 is provided with an arcuate outer edgeprofile 34 which is substantially concentric to the pivotal fulcrum ofthe bridge plate carrier members 16, so that upon upward swing of thepeeling or stripping mechanism, under circumstances hereinafter setforth, the peeler r stripper blades will clear the shaft it of the uppercarrying roll. Each peeler or stripper blade is also provided with anarcuate inner edge profile 35 somewhat eccentric to the pivotal fulcrumof the bridge plate carrier members 16, whereby to diverge upwardly fromits free end, relative to the opposed periphery of the printing cylinderand printing plates thereon, toward its juncture with the bottom edgeportion of the bridge plate 15, so as to provide, at said juncture, aninternal stop shoulder 36 which a printed sheet S, issuing from theprinting cylinder, that may accidentally escape the peeling or strippingaction of the blade, will engage and exert lifting pressure against thepeeling and srtipping mechanism for purposes presently to be described.Each peeler or stripper blade terminates at its free end in a bottomedge 37 which is disposed in plane substantially l to and adjacentlyabove the paper line. The

lute inner and bottom edges 3537 of the blade define a tip portion whichunderlies the printing cylinder and its printing plates, and which isinwardly directed toward and so as to terminate adjacent to the nip ofthe latter with the bed roll 14.

shape of the tip portion of a peeler or stripper blade 23 is subject tovariation, but a preferred formation thereof, which possesses desirablecharacteristics, is shown. in such form, the bottom edge 37, as it approhes the tip extremity, is provided with an upwardly inclined section 38,preferably at an angle divergent to the plane of the paper line ofapproximately The tip portion is provided with a rearwardly and upwardlyinclined top edge 39, which leads to a rearwardly and relativelydownwardly extending section 43 that intersects the .r edge 35 or theblade. Due to such top formation 0 the tip portion, the sharp extremityis directed away from the surfaces of the printing plates 13 mounted onthe printing cylinder 12, and the juncture of sections 39 and 4d of saidtop formation provides means for fending the sharp extremity of the tipaway from printing plate surfaces, so that injurious plowing or diggingof said tip extremity into the latter is avoided, in event a bladeshould he accidentally or momentarily sprung toward the same.

Mounted on one of the shoulder portions of the press side frames it) isan electric switch 41 having an actuating button 42. Said switch 41 iselectrically connected, through suitable circuits and control agencies(not shown) with the press drive motor. The extension arm 18 of anadjacent carrier member 16 of the peeling and stripping mechanism isprovided with an angular switch control finger 43 which overhangs andpresses down upon the switch control button 42, whereby to hold theswitch 41 closed, and the press drive motor operative, so long as thepeeling or stripping mechanism remains in normal cooperative relation tothe printing cylinder 12.

In the operation of the above described embodiment of the peeling andstripping mechanism, as a printed sheet S issues from the printingcylinder 12, its leading edge portion, as normally advanced, will passunder the tip portions of the peeler or stripper blades 23, so as to beengaged beneath the bottom edges 37 thereof. Preferably the bottom edges37 and 38 of the blades 23 are of \/-shape in cross-section as shown, sothat the sheet material contact thereof is reduced to a minimum. When aprinted sheet S is advanced beneath the peeler or stripper blades, thesheet will be held down thereby, and thus compelled to separate from thesurface of a printing plate 13 by which it is printed, so that anytendency to adhere to the latter is overcome, especially when theprinting is done with tacky ink or with varnish. In laying out jobs tobe printed, effort is made to so arrange the disposition of imprintsthat leading edge portions of the sheet, or leading edge portions ofindividual diecut box blanks contained in the sheet, are not printed,and are thus free from tacky ink or varnish. Since such leading edgeportions first issue from the printing cylinder, and being unprinted andtherefore non-tacky, the same, when emerging from the nip of a printingcylinder carried printing plate 13 and the bed roll 14, tend to springaway from the printing plate surface so as to project tangentiallytherefrom. By reason of this, such leading edge portions will bedisposed to normally pass beneath the tip portions of the peeler orstripper blades, so as to be operatively engaged by said blades fordesired peeling or stripping effect thereof.

In the operation of the press there is possibility that something mayhappen to the printed sheet S, or some accidental deformation thereofmay occur, which allows its leading edge portion, or the leading edgeportion of one or more of its contained diecut box blanks, to escape andpass over the tip portion of one or more peeler or stripper blades, withthe result that the issuing printed sheet S passes upwardly between theprinting cylinder and the inner edges 35 of the peeler or stripper bladeor blades. In such case the sheet will be moved upwardly until it abutsthe stop shoulder 36 provided in connection with the bridge plate 15,thereupon being operative to exert an upward thrust against the peelingand stripping mechanism. Under such exerted upthrust, the carriermembers 16 are upswung about their pivotal connections with the printingcylinder shaft 11, thereby also upswinging the extension arms 18 andtheir stop fingers 19 away from stopped engagement with the stop postsor pins 21. To counterbalance the weight of the peeling or strippingmechanism, whereby to render said mechanism readily responsive and lessresistant to such upswinging move ment thereof, compression springs 44are mounted around the stop posts or pins 2i intermediate the press sideframe shoulder portions 25 and the stop fingers 19. Similarly, if forany reason the printed sheet S issuing from the printing cylinder shouldbuckle, crumple or otherwise become deformed after entering beneath thepeeler or stripper blades 23, thereby creating a jam, the resultingjamming accumulation will also exert upswinging thrust upon the peelingor stripping mechanism. in any case, the upswinging movement of thepeeling or stripping mechanism withdraws the switch control finger 4-3from the actuating button 42 of switch 41, whereby to immediately allowthe switch to open, and thus to interrupt service of power to the pressdrive motor, so as to at once automatically stop the press. Such promptstopping of the press prevents undue waste of printed material, andavoids risk of injury by jamming material to printing plate surfaces.

Upon occurrence of a jam of printed material and resultant stopping ofthe press, the peeling or stripping mechanism can be manually upswungout of the way, and, if necessary, the upper carrying roll can beremoved, thus giving convenient access to the jamming material, so thatthe same may be quickly removed and cleared away and the press restartedwith minimum time loss in opera tion thereof.

Referring to Fig. 5, there is shown therein a modified form of thepeeling or stripping mechanism which, however, embodies the generalprinciples of construction and mode of operation according to thisinvention. The main difference between this modified form and'thehereinabove previously described form involves the means for supportingthe bridge plate by which the peeler or stripper blades are carried. Insaid modified form, the bridge plate 15' is of flat instead of arcuateformation, and is slidably supported by its ends in upwardly andoutwardly inclined channeled slideway guides 45, which are aflixed tothe inner faces of the press side frames 10. The bridge plate 15' isprovided at its top portion, for extension from respective ends thereof,with stop fingers 19, to abut the stop posts or pins 21, and at one endwith a switch control finger 43' to actuate the switch button 42 of theswitch 41. The peeler or stripper blades 23 are mounted on the bridgeplate 15' in the manner previously described. This modified embodimentof the invention is best adapted for use in cases wherein thearrangement of the printing plates 13 on the printing cylinder 12permits the latter to be provided with annular channels 46 intermediateprinting plates; said channels affording clearance for the peeler orstripper blade tip portions to accomodate movement thereof underupthrusting pressure exerted against the same or against the bridgeplate.

It will be understood that the illustrative embodiments of thisinvention shown in the drawings and herein described can be variouslymodified as to details thereof without departing from the principles ofthis invention within the scope of the herefollowing claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. In a printing press the combination with a printing cylinder thereofof stripping means adjacent the discharge side of the printing cylinderincluding peeler blade means to engage the leading end of printedmaterial issuing from said printing cylinder, whereby to inhibitadherence ofsaid material to the latter and thus normally compelling Isaid material to advance along the plane of the paper line of the press,and means to pivotally support said stripping means for movement in apath substantially concentric to the axis of said printing cylinder,whereby the same will yield to upthrusting pressure of printed materialabnormally discharged from the printing cylinder with jamming effect,and whereby said stripping means can be manually displaced to giveaccess to jamming material for removal thereof.

2. In a printing press the combination with a printing cylinder thereofof stripping means adjacent the discharge side of the printing cylinderincluding peeler blade means to engage the leading end of printedmaterial issuing from said printing cylinder, whereby to inhibitadherence of said material to the latter. and thus normally compellingsaid material to advance along the plane of the paper line.

of the press, means to movably support said stripping means whereby thesame can yield to up-thrusting pressure of printed material abnormallydischarged from the printing cylinder with jamming effect, stop means tode- 'termine the normally'disposed operative position of said strippingmeans, and means activated by engagement therewith of the normallydisposed stripping means for controlling the operating power of thepress, said latter means being operative to stop'the press whendisengaged by said stripping means.

3. In a printing press having side frames and a printing .'means tocounterbalance the weight of the stripping cylinder journaled in andbetween the same, a stripping device cooperative with said printingcylinder comprising a bridge plate adjacently disposed along thedischarge side of the latter and having peeler blade means dependenttherefrom to engage the leading end of printed material issuingtherefrom, whereby to inhibit adherence of said material to saidprinting cylinder and thus normally compelling said material to advancealong the plane of the paper line of the press, carrier members pivotedsubstantially at the axis of the printing cylinder by which the bridgeplate with its peeler blade means is movably supported, whereby the samecan yield to up-thrusting pressure of printed materials abnormallydischarged from the printing cylinder with jamming effect, and wherebythe same can be manually displaced to give access to jamming materialfor removal thereof, and said carrier members and press side frameshaving cooperative stop means to determine the normally disposedoperative position of the bridge plate and its peeler blade means.

4. In a printing press according to claim 3 including means tocounterbalance the weight of the stripping device.

5. In a printing press according to claim 3 wherein the peeler blademeans comprises a plurality of peeler blades, and said peeler blades andthe bridge plate having cooperative means for adjustably and releaseablycoupling the former to the latter in selected spaced apart relation.

6. In a printing press according to claim 5 including means tocounterbalance the weight of the stripping device.

7. In a printing press having side frames and a printpivotedsubstantially at the axis of the printing cylinder by which the bridgeplate with its peeler blade means is movably supported, whereby the samecan yield to upthru'sting pressure of printed material abnormallydischarged from the printing cylinder with jamming effect, said carriermembers and press side frames having cooperative stop means to determinethe normally disposed operative position of the bridge plate and itspeeler blade means, an electric press power control switch mounted on apress side frame, and an adjacent carrier member of the stripping devicehaving means to engage and close the switch while the stripping deviceoccupies its normally disposed operative position whereby to maintainoperation of the press, said switch being adapted to open and stop thepress when disengaged by said latter means due to upward displacementofthe stripping device from its normally disposed operative position.

8. In a. printing press according to claim 7 including means tocounterbalance the weight of the stripping device.

9. In a printing press'according to claim 7 wherein the peeler blademeans comprises a plurality of peeler blades, and said peeler blades andthe bridge plate having cooperative means for adjustably and releaseablycoupling the former to the latter in selected spaced apart relation.

7 10. In a printing press according to claim 9 including device.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,737,616 Saatman Dec. 3, 1929 1,750,587 Fischer Mar. 11, 1930 2,126,681Ginsberg Aug. 9, 1938

